Apparently the Jay Cutler Troy Aikman debate started up without anybody having reason for it. The former Bears quarterback appears headed for retirement. Already he has a deal with FOX to become one of their next broadcasters during NFL games. This after getting lukewarm interest from teams around the league in terms of signing him.

In that context it’s somewhat similar to Aikman. The Hall of Famer left the league a bit earlier than expected, mostly because he was tired of taking the hits. He quickly transitioned to the broadcast booth where he’s been ever since. So sure they share that much in common at least. Well apparently somebody on Facebook wanted to raise the stakes.

According to NFL Trash Talkers (who are probably Packer fans), when one lines up the stat lines of Cutler and Aikman, an incredible truth is brought to life.

The Jay Cutler Troy Aikman debate has legs?

From a pure statistical point of view Cutler seems to be superior to Aikman in every notable category. That includes touchdowns, completion percentage and quarterback rating. He also had just 500 fewer passing yards despite playing 26 fewer games.

Of course as with all things football it’s never a wise idea to rely solely on the numbers. Here’s something to consider. In their careers Cutler averaged four more passes per game (32 to 28) than Aikman. He threw 146 interceptions in those 139 games. Aikman had 141 in 165 games. Last but not least is the rule book. NFL rules in the 1990s weren’t nearly as skewed towards the quarterback position as they are today.

So in essence this supposed superiority Cutler has over Aikman doesn’t account for the fact he threw the ball more often, turned it over more often and had a set of rules designed to make sure he had success. A benefit Aikman never enjoyed. To say nothing of the fact that Aikman wasn’t in an offense designed to feature him as a passer. Those Dallas teams were classic power running and play good defense units. His job was to manage games.

This isn’t even venturing into the leadership and character angles. Numerous accounts over the years state that Cutler, while intelligent could be a frustrating teammate and poor leader. On the other hand nobody said that about Aikman. He was firm and demanding but the likes of Emmett Smith and Michael Irvin said he was the main man and everybody knew it.

At the end of the day Aikman has three rings. Cutler has one playoff win. So no to this shallow and halfhearted attempt at stirring up controversy.